| Detroit Free Press
NBA free agents 2020: The 10 best options before 2020-21 season
The 2020 NBA offseason is unlike any before but Detroit Pistons are one of a handful of teams with ample cap space to spend in free agency.
The Detroit Pistons made their biggest splash yet in a wild NBA free agency spree, reportedly agreeing Friday night to a deal with forward Jerami Grant.
They are signing him to a massive three-year, $60 million contract, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Grant, 26, is an ascending player, and increased his value after a nice season with the Western Conference finalist Denver Nuggets. He is an athletic, strong, versatile defender, and has developed a passable offensive game as a complementary player, with improved 3-point shooting. Last season, he averaged 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks, shooting 38.9% on 3s (3.5 attempts per game) in 26.6 minutes per game across 71 games (24 starts).
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Grant, who entered the league as a poor shooter, shot 39.2% from 3 on 3.7 attempts per game in 2018-19 with Oklahoma City. He’s a career 34.7% 3-point shooter in six seasons, shooting 66.9% from the foul line.
Pistons general manager Troy Weaver was an executive with the Thunder when they traded with Philadelphia to acquire Grant early in the 2016-17 season.
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OKC re-signed Grant in 2018 to a 3-year, $27 million deal with a player option for $9.3 million in the third year. It dealt him to Denver before last season for a protected first-round pick. Grant opted out of the final year this week to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Nuggets offered Grant the same amount of money as the Pistons, according to multiple reports, but he wanted a bigger role, and chose the rebuilding Pistons.
Grant has played in four straight postseasons — three with the Thunder before playing in the Orlando Bubble with the upset-minded Nuggets — with 35 appearances. He broke out in Games 3-5 of the West finals against the Los Angeles Lakers scoring 26, 17 and 20 points, as the Nuggets lost in five games to the eventual champions.
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Grant has NBA lineage. His father, Harvey, spent 11 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Washington Bullets. His uncle, Horace, played for 17 seasons, most notably for Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic. And his older brother, Jerian, starred at Notre Dame and has played five seasons in the league.
Jerami Grant was drafted 39th overall out of Syracuse in 2014 by Philadelphia. This is the fourth time he has been traded.
He is the biggest signing yet by Weaver, and the fourth signing less than four hours into the free agency negotiating window.
Earlier in the night, the Pistons agreed to deals with centers Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor, and wing Josh Jackson. Deals cannot be signed until Sunday at noon.
Follow Marlowe Alter on Twitter: @Marlowe Alter.